YOU SHOW US
EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT
YOU KEEP ON DANCING
AND THE ROOM GETS HOT..
Alive!
is the fourth
album overall,
and the first
live album,
by American
hard Rock band
Kiss,
released on
September 10, 1975.
It is considered to be
their breakthrough,
and a landmark
for live albums.
The double-album
contains
live versions
of selected tracks
from their
first three
studio albums,
Kiss,
Hotter Than Hell
and
Dressed to Kill.
It was recorded at
concerts in
Detroit,
Michigan;
Cleveland,
Ohio;
Wildwood,
New Jersey;
and Davenport,
Iowa on
May 16,
June 21,
July 20
and
July 23, 1975.
The album's title was an
homage to the
1972 live album
Slade Alive!
by the English
rock group
Slade,
a band that
heavily influenced
Kiss
Background
From 1974 to 1975,
Kiss released three albums:
Kiss,
Hotter Than Hell,
and
Dressed to Kill.
Although the three albums
helped establish a
cult following
for the band
in the Rust Belt,
they were
commercial failures.
Guitarist Paul Stanley
attributed the low sales
to Kiss'
weak sound when
they were in the studio
versus when they
were in concert.
According to Stanley:
"I never thought any
of our first three albums
captured the intensity
of what the band
was going for or was.
And it was a problem
because people would
come to see us
and many of them
weren't buying our albums."
Kiss was famous for its
elaborate stage performances,
where the band members
would wear
kabuki-style makeup,
use pyrotechnics,
and spit fake blood.
Bassist
Gene Simmons
said that because of
Kiss's notoriety,
they were kicked off
of multiple tours
with groups like
Argent,
Black Sabbath,
and
Savoy Brown
because they were
afraid to play after
Kiss.
Kiss's record label,
Casablanca Records,
had similar
financial issues.
By 1974,
Casablanca's profits
were declining,
so CEO
Neil Bogart
decided to release
a double album
of audio highlights
from
The Tonight Show
Starring Johnny Carson,
a show that averaged
fourteen million
viewers a night.
Casablanca shipped
750,000 copies,
but the album was an
enormous failure.
Distributors mailed back
their free copies,
and Casablanca
co-founder
Larry Harris said:
"It hit the floor with
a lifeless,
echoing thud.
" The failure negatively
affected many acts signed
with Casablanca,
including
Kiss;
the band only received a
$15,000 advance
for the first three albums,
and had yet to
receive any royalties .
As a result of the
breach of contract,
Kiss began looking
at other labels
to sign with,
and a lawsuit was
eventually filed
against Bogart.
In a last-ditch effort
to save the label,
Bogart decided to
capitalize on Kiss'
onstage notoriety
and have the band
record a live album.
Kiss's manager
Bill Aucoin
was receptive toward
the idea,
as he felt the band
could finally achieve
the sound they sought.
He also liked
the fact that a
live recording
would be less expensive
than a studio recording.
The band members
also liked the idea,
and within a few days,
Bogart arranged the
Dressed to Kill Tour.
Bogart could not
finance the tour,
however,
so Aucoin paid for
the entire tour
with his own money,
a total of $300,000.
https://mega.nz/folder/Dm42gKza#XM1y2BCihJGqnyu-huOnqA
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